🇨🇳🇵🇭⚡- "The greatest external threat actually is Chinese aggression, Chinese expansionism and the attempt by China to change the international law through the use of force or acquiescence…or its attempt to reshape the world order to one that it controls," - Gilberto Teodoro, Defense Secretary of the Philippines.

🇨🇳🇵🇭⚡- "That [China's annexation of the Scarborough Shoal] is a very serious transgression of international law, which will demand our response," - Gilberto Teodoro, Defense Secretary of the Philippines.

🇨🇳🇵🇭⚡- "The Philippines would take measures to counter any attempt by China to impose an air defense zone or restrict freedom of flights over the [disputed] South China Sea," - Gilberto Teodoro, Defense Secretary of the Philippines.

🇨🇳🇵🇭⚡- Chinese right-wing media on Douyin have begun claiming that Palawan Island (of the Philippines) is apart of China. The island is 1,500 km away from mainland China. Manila responded to the claims as 'delusional' and as part of China's 'propaganda push'.

🇨🇳⚡- China has begun building a massive military base on the Zhongshan coastline, Guangdong province, China. The base is located on the South China Sea.

🇦🇫🇵🇰⚡- Clashes have erupted again between Pakistani and Afghan border forces at the Torkham border crossing.

🇸🇩🇰🇪⚡- Kenyan authorities arrest Yasir Arman, Head of SPLM (a group currently fighting al-Burhan's government in Sudan), after his arrival at Nairobi's International Airport.

🇺🇸🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- "It is not just the axis of evil trying to revise the world order. The US is also destroying the world order," - Valeriy Zaluzhny, Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK, and former Commander-In-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

🇺🇸🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- "The United States is getting closer to Russia, refuses to acknowledge Moscow's aggression, and does not care about its international reputation," - Valeriy Zaluzhny, Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK, and former Commander-In-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- "Russia will not agree to the deployment of European forces in Ukraine," - The Kremlin.

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- "There is no room for sending European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine and we will consider it a NATO presence," - Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister.

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- "Deploying a European military force in Ukraine means direct war by European countries on Russia," - Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister.

🇺🇸🇺🇦 - Ukrainian outlet, Kiev Independent, confirms Trump's team held secret talks with Ukrainian opposition figures on holding elections, in a bid to remove Zelensky from power.

The talks were held with former Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, a veteran of Ukrainian politics. Tymoshenko belongs to the Batkivshchyna, a far-right conservative party. The party is far more anti-Russia than Zelensky's Servant of the Peoples Party.

Trump's team also spoke with Poroshenko, the former President of Ukraine, and post-Maidan President. Poroshenko's popularity in Ukraine plummeted after the 'Roshen Chocolate Company' scandal. Poroshenko's government was believed to have been influenced by Ukraine's far-right sectors, which was evident by several appointments he had made. Such as Azov-linked Avakov as Interior Minister, and Troyan as Kiev's Chief of Police (a former Azov Commander).

Both figures are unpopular, and unlikely to replace Zelensky in an election. With the only real candidate of succeeding Zelensky being Zaluzhny. Zaluzhny will end up proving more difficult to negotiate with than Zelensky. The US witnessed Zaluzhny's stubbornness during Ukraine's '2023 Counteroffensive', when Zaluzhny blasted NATO's tactics as 'obsolete' after multiple failed attacks. Instead launched his own tactics, and saw mild success.

All three opposition figures have rejected calls for an early election in Ukraine.

🇺🇸⚡- BREAKING: "Several US allies, including Israel and Saudi Arabia, are considering cutting back on the amount of intelligence they share with Washington in response to the Trump administration’s conciliatory approach to Russia," - NBC.

🇨🇳🇹🇼🇺🇦⚡- "Taiwan turns to companies in Ukraine for China contingency planning. They hope to learn from Ukraine's first-hand experiences, how private companies helped build the resilience of its government and society during wartime," - Reuters.

🇪🇺🇺🇦⚡- Ukrainian President Zelensky arrives at the European Council in Brussels, Belgium, for the EU Summit.

Footage shows Zelensky meeting European Commission President von der Leyen and European Council President Costa.

🇪🇺🇵🇱⚡- Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, at the EU Summit in Brussels, suggested increasing the number of European NATO troops along the border of Russia and Belarus.

⚡️🇺🇸🇮🇷 Reuters: The US is considering a plan to disrupt Iran’s oil exports by halting vessels at sea. The proposal would involve using US naval assets to intercept and detain tankers carrying Iranian crude, with the aim of cutting off Tehran’s revenue and increasing economic pressure on the regime.

Officials are weighing the potential risks of such an operation, including the possibility of escalating tensions in the Gulf.

🇪🇺🇵🇱🇫🇷⚡- "France's proposal to expand nuclear deterrence capabilities to the rest of Europe is worth studying," - Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland.

🇪🇺🇵🇱🇷🇺⚡- "Europe will rearm faster than Russia," - Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland.